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English Literature AS Level

I have currently chosen to take English Literature in Year 12. I'm interested to find out from those who take it what you think of the subject. Do you find it difficult/easy? Is it enjoyable/boring? Does it follow on from GCSE level/ is it completely different? (Obviously the replies will be subjective, but I want to find out the general opinion)

Thanks in advance.

Reply 1

Belle-x

15

I took English Lit and dropped it after AS. It changes a lot from GCSE, as in it becomes a lot harder. I found it okay on a difficulty rating but it was my most boring subject, hence why I dropped it. That might have been because I was in a very boring class though :p:

The books weren't great either, although I loved All My Sons :smile:

Reply 2

emma_wemma

I personally found it quite dull and I dropped it at A2 as well xD

It's quite easy, I guess it is if you have that "flair", no-one in my class got below a B and about 25% got above 90% in June exams.

That was AQA, with Larkin poem and Spies text.

There's a lot of memorising quotes and things for closed book exams too, so you have to have a good memory! >.<

x

Reply 3

Cate15

1

It's not as exciting and intellectual as you might hope. It is a hell of alot harder than gcse. But it teaches you how to interpret literature and opens your mind to poetry which are two aspects of the course I reall liked. I just did as level and I am definatly keeping it to A Level. However if you're going to take it to as level you should be good at the subject. A few in our class took it just cause they enjoyed it and they are failing miserably.

Reply 4

KatieUni08

Personally, I found AS English lit a little frustrating as the course is entirely based on texts chosen by your teachers. Nevertheless, I did enjoy it and it certainly developed my understanding and analytical skills for A2.

As far as the GCSE question goes, it's a jump. At GCSE you almost write formulaically in order to get good marks whereas during your AS and A2 years you learn to develop your own writing style and how to convey ideas effectively. I found the transition quite hard between GCSE and AS mainly because I didn't write in a very good style (accidentally dropping colloqialisms and apostrophes to abreviate) but this was sorted out in the first term of starting AS with some help from teachers and then 5 developed and continued to improve it over the 2 year course :smile:

But don't let this put you off, everyone is in the same position and also, the change is different for everybody.

I most enjoyed unit 6 this year, the synoptic unit, as you get to read a lot around one subject rather than one text in minute detail, and listening to my teachers about the course starting this year the AQA course will be more like this synoptic unit all the way through wiht one 'synoptic' exam and a piece of coursework each year (AQA) the first year on romance through the ages, and second year on war. I personally would have LOVED this spec! But I guess it all depends on what you enjoy doing.

I think the course is really benificial to a lot of degrees/ careers but also enjoyable. :biggrin:

good luck in your choices! Any more questions then feel free to ask. :smile:

x

Reply 5

Joanna May

15

No one can really tell you whta its like because how much you enjoy it will depend largely on the texts you do. I hated half our set texts, so I hated to subject. However, had we done something better I probably would have loved it.

You have to learn quotes for closed text exams, which is something different from GCSE. Also a large part of the A2 course is a synoptic paper, where you have to do reading by yourself without much real help from the teachers.

Reply 6

juicyfruit

16

In my experience, i've found it dull and quite hard, it's so picky with like how close you have to be to the text.

Reply 7

curiouslyorange1989

lit is a giggle (comparativly)! was my favourite subject at school (business bein a pile of poo, maths boring and english language crap).

a third of it is coursework so that can help boost your grade. The text you choose can make a difference. for my coursework i compared clockwork orange and 1984 which was interesting.

meh exams wise if youve got a strong written style it should be ok :biggrin:

Reply 8

*pitseleh*

20

I'm really surprised by the number of people saying there's a huge leap between GCSE and A-level - I really didn't find that to be the case at all. Seemed like a much smoother transition than, say, Maths GCSE to Maths AS, or Chemistry GCSE to Chemistry AS.

*shrugs*

Absolutely loved studying Literature for A-level, though. The only frustrating thing for me was not having more autonomy - there were certain books foisted on me that I'd rather have avoided. That said, one of the wonderful things about this subject is that if you truly loathe a book, you can still write an excellent essay on precisely why you dislike it so much, as I did for both my AS coursework (on The Color Purple.. *shudders*) and my A2 coursework (on The Handmaids Tale and 1984 - loathed the former and adored the latter). So at least you get to vent your feelings about those texts you'd rather not be studying. :smile:

Reply 9

Kater Murr

20

It's easy. If you're good at english, you should be able to get an A with **** all work.

Reply 10

mr_magoo

English Lit has to be the most boring subject ever!! i loved it at GCSE and got A* but only manage to get a 'D' at AS-level...kinda gave up towards the end, just found it boring and quite hard and completely different to GCSE english lit

Reply 11

Epitomessence

12

Just a bit harder than GCSE, and a heck of a lot more interesting. I loved every second of it.

Reply 12

inksplodge

17

I hated english lit at GCSE. I'm still not sure what persuaded me to do it for AS level, but I'm glad I did. I love it. I'm taking it on to A2 this year :smile:

You need to be able to analyse texts according to the assessment objectives. If you can do that, you'll get a good grade. You don't necessarily have to find the texts interesting. I know I didn't in some parts. :p:

Reply 13

Emmska

1

I love it with a passion! It all depends on which board you study though :smile:

Reply 14

x-x-xamyx-x-x

My best subject has always been English and I did find it boring at GCSE level, which I took in Year 10 along with English Language. I got an A in both though, so thought I would continue with it in college. It is slightly different in college, but not too different from GCSE really, you just look at texts in a slightly different way really. Once you get that nailed and know what the examiners are looking for, you'll enjoy looking at a variety of different texts. I hated "Spies" upon first reading, but once I re-read it and started discussing it in class, I found it quite interesting, what with all the hidden sexualness and the like! I also think doing AS Eng Lang has also helped me a lot in English Lit, because I can gain extra marks from using terminology that is familiar to me in Eng Lang.

I'm now continuing it into A2 year when I go back to college after the summer holidays, and I'm looking forward to getting stuck in once more.

Reply 15

Vexed

I've decided to take it at AS level, however I don't think I've done great in my GCSE- I'm thinking a C ish, so if I didn't manage to do great at GCSE level do you think I should give up with AS before I've started as I'll probably struggle? I'm not the shiniest nail in the toolbox to say the least.

Thanks.

Reply 16

billet-doux

OP

14

Thanks for all the replies, they've been a vast help.

Reply 17

Emmalouise1990

7

What sort of grades at GCSE do you think you need in English Lit/Lang to take them at A Level? I know that the course only specifies a C at GCSE, but that seems quite low to me. What sort of level (grade wise) would you need to be able to understand and do well at this subject at A Level?

Reply 18

billet-doux

OP

14

Emmalouise1990

What sort of grades at GCSE do you think you need in English Lit/Lang to take them at A Level? I know that the course only specifies a C at GCSE, but that seems quite low to me. What sort of level (grade wise) would you need to be able to understand and do well at this subject at A Level?

We've been told that we should have a B or above.

Reply 19

*pitseleh*

20

Emmalouise1990

What sort of grades at GCSE do you think you need in English Lit/Lang to take them at A Level? I know that the course only specifies a C at GCSE, but that seems quite low to me. What sort of level (grade wise) would you need to be able to understand and do well at this subject at A Level?

Define "do well". What kind of grade are you looking for?

English Literature AS Level

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